Hem-Fir Workbench--My Second Woodworking Project

Here is my workbench. I completed it in August of 2015. It’s nothing too fancy. I made it out of Hem-Fir because I could not find suitable SYP 2×4s and I didn’t have a table saw to cut down wider stock. That, and it’s kind of fun to say that I have a hemlock workbench. Because I was new to woodworking and did not want to risk screwing up the joints, I used metal L-clips to reinforce out-of sight joints and to join the front of the base to the top. I also used recessed carriage bolts through a lap joint to attach the front stretchers to the legs (you can see that I messed up the bolt pattern on one side). It’s already earned some stains and dings in the line of duty. Not sure yet if I want to put a finish on it.

good job on that bench that will hopefully be the platform on which many more projects will come,looking forward to seeing more of your work,youve come to the best place possible for help or inspiration,welcome to lumber jocks.

Thanks, Palaswood! The bench has held up wonderfully so far. It has nicks and dings from normal wear and tear, but it is every bit as good as the day I completed it.

I have not had any issues with wood movement. That is probably because the boards are face glued, so most of the movement within the top is vertical, not horizontal. I also alternated (usually) the grain direction so that the boards would cancel out the movement of their neighbors.

Finally, although most of the screws attaching the base to the top have elongated screw holes to allow for seasonal wood movement, I used two L-clips at the very front to anchor the front of the top so that it is always flush with the front of the base.

Fridge, I decided not to put a finish on the bench. In my opinion, it’s probably too much effort to finish something that was specifically built to take abuse.